A Promise
by happyface2468
Summary: Rin is pronounced dead during a mission, but suddenly comes back to Konoha 10 years later. Kakashi has to sort through his feelings before it's too late. KakaXRin
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto...and never will =( My first fanfiction! Hope you enjoy  
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It was a sunny cloudless spring day in Konoha. The cherry blossoms lightly floated through the air with each gust of wind. He stood in front of the memorial like he did every morning. It had been 15 years since Obito's death, but it still haunted him as if it had just happened yesterday. Why did everyone close to him end up dying? He was too weak to protect anyone. His arrogance and stupidity killed Obito, he wasn't there when Rin was in danger, and he couldn't do anything to help Sensei. Damnit, he was so weak.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!" Sakura called to him.

Naruto was right behind her. "Come on Kakashi-sensei! You said you'd train us today!"

He might have broken his promise to protect Rin with his life, but he would do everything he could to protect those that were important to him from now on.

**Flashback**

_A 17 year old Kakashi stands in front of the memorial after his daily training, concentrating on just one name: Uchiha Obito. _

"_You still visit him everyday," said Rin. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. _

"_hnn" _

"_Kakashi- kun, I can see you're still hurting. So am I, but we have to move on."  
"How can I move on when it was my fault he died? I killed him, Rin! I should have stabbed him in his back with a kunai!"_

"_I know he doesn't think of it like that," Rin whispered quietly. "He wanted to protect his comrades more than anything." _

"_Well, he's a stupid idiot! He didn't deserve to die… He loved you, you know. As his last wish, I promised him I would protect you with my life." _

_Suddenly, Rin starts crying into Kakashi's jacket. _

"_What am I to you, Kakashi? Do you love me? I still love you. I love you, Kakashi" Rin blurted through fits of sobs._

_Kakashi always knew that Rin had had a crush on him. He didn't think her feelings were that deep._

"_I'm sorry, Rin. I just can't do that to Obito. I can't love you back." Kakashi replied._

_It was true; he didn't think of her of anything more than a close friend he had to protect. _

_**The Next Day**_

_After a night to think things over, Kakashi realizes that he should talk to Rin. He didn't want to end things on that horrible note. He knocked on her apartment numerous times before he accepted the fact that she wasn't home. 'She's probably on a mission,' Kakashi concluded. He goes to the Hokage and he does verify this._

"_What kind of mission is it? How come I'm not going? We're teammates for God's sake!" Kakashi didn't know why he was overreacting so much._

"_It is an A-class mission. You won't like the details. Rin and several other of our kunoichi are going undercover in a brothel to spy on the lord of a neighboring village. There have been several rumors about this guy, dark, disturbing rumors," the Hokage calmly explained. _

_Kakashi had no choice but to wait. _

_Five days later, Kakashi is summoned to the Hokage's office._

"_I'm sorry Kakashi, Rin was captured and killed on her mission."_


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi woke with a start. He usually didn't dream about his past much these past couple of years. It was still the middle of the night. He walks out onto his balcony and stares up at the sky. All the stars are shining brightly tonight. He sees a shooting star. He doesn't believe in the whole idea that if you wish upon a falling star, it'll come true. Nonetheless, he decides to give it a try. He wishes as hard as he can, putting his whole mind into his wish. Kakashi goes back to sleep and dreams about Rin again. It's a pleasant dream this time, memories of their happy times together. He smiles as he sleeps, but a single tear also flows down his face.

The next morning, Kakashi goes through his usual routine. He takes his shower, brushes his teeth, eats breakfast, and visits the memorial. As he stares at Obito's name carved onto the stone, he doesn't notice someone in the woods watching him. A tree limb snaps and Kakashi is released from his reverie.

"Rin?" Kakashi asks tentatively.

He figures that his mind's just playing with him. 'Oh well, I should get to the training grounds or Naruto's going to go crazy again.'

Rin's still standing in the woods, her hands clasped around her mouth and tears streaming down his face. She didn't know where these overflowing emotions were coming from. She had rehearsed what she was going to say when she finally saw him so many times. But when she finally saw him, she froze up. 'What a pathetic woman,' Rin thought. 'I can't even face him. Why am I even coming back to Konoha?' She knew why, but she wanted to forget about it, wanted to deny it.

"Kakashi-sensei? KAKASHI!!" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs.

"hnn?"

"Kakashi, you've been out of it for this whole day. Is there something bothering you?"

"Nope, I'm just tired," Kakashi replied back, then flashing his infamous smile.

"Naruto, does something seem odd about Kakashi to you?" Sakura whispers to Naruto.

"Yea, I could have kicked his ass during training today. He was so out of it," Naruto replies.

Naruto and Sakura kept wondering what could be bothering their sensei so much, but not one of their theories were correct.

The truth was, Kakashi was thinking about Rin the whole day. He was sure he felt Rin's presence back at the memorial earlier today. She was dead though. He had to keep telling himself that or he would drive himself crazy. As he was walking back to his apartment, he felt the same presence. He had to find out if it really was her. He keeps walking while concentrating on this presence he's feeling. Kakashi's so into trying to track this person down that he doesn't notice the two muggers behind him. One hit in the head and he's out of it. Before he's completely out, he thinks he hears fighting and some painful groans.

When Kakashi wakes up, he realizes he's in the hospital. A nurse comes and checks up on him. She tells him that he's recovered well and that he can be released in a couple of hours.

"Nurse? Can you tell me how I ended up in the hospital?"

"Yea, someone dropped you off here and then ran off. By the figure, I think it was a female, but she ran off so fast that we didn't get to catch a good look of her."

"Oh, thank you"

Kakashi returns to his apartment after being released from the hospital and lies on his bed.

'Was it Rin that saved me? No No No! She's dead Kakashi. Died during that stupid mission.'

Thoughts like these bombarded him until he fell asleep. After sleep took him, more dreams of Rin filled his mind. He just couldn't get her out of his head.

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Haha, this was supposed to just be a one chapter little story, but I have a feeling it's going to get a lot longer. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Rin watched as Kakashi tossed and turned in his bed. She could tell that he was dreaming about something none too pleasant. She just wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was okay. Not yet though.

She returns to the outskirts of Konoha to the woods where she was staying these days. She sets up her traps to keep away wild animals and any wanderers and crawls into her tent.

Kakashi wakes from his dream the second time this night. This dream was particularly gruesome. He tries to go back to sleep but the memories of his nightmare refuses to let him drift back to sleep. He decides to get some fresh air outside. The night has an eerie stillness about it. Kakashi starts walking around, only half conscience of what he was doing. Before he knew it, he'd arrived at the memorial tombstone. He stands there for a while with no particular thoughts in his mind.

In the meantime, Rin was drifting in and out of sleep. Suddenly she hears voices outside her tent. Two men, obviously drunk, were stumbling around her tent. Rin takes a look outside.

"Hey Sato, wayya think this tent here for?" said one of the men

"Baka, how you think I supposed to know?" replied the second man.

They both look at the tent and see Rin spying on them. Rin lets out a gasp and tries to find her kunai.

"Well, well, wad do we have here, a beautiful lady," says the man while advancing on Rin.

"Don't be scared, we'll be gentle," says the second man, also advancing on Rin.

Rin lets out a shriek as she tries to protect herself from the two men. She manages to land a couple of punches and kicks. She tries to keep them away from her but the two of them are too strong for her.

The silence of the night is disrupted by a shriek. Kakashi immediately runs toward the sound of the scream and arrives soon after. He reaches a tent and looks in to find a horrific sight. Before he can fully process the scene, he knocks the two men unconscious. His heart tears in two as he sees an unconscious Rin lying on the ground with numerous bruises and cuts.

"Rin, oh god, Rin!" Kakashi holds her head in his lap as he checks her vitals. Luckily, she's in stable condition. Thank goodness he wasn't too late. He stares at her face. Through all the bruising and blood, he can tell she's become even more beautiful since he last saw her. She lets out a moan and he realizes he has to tend to her wounds. Kakashi scoops Rin up bridal style and takes her to his apartment.

When Rin wakes up, she can feel that something's off. First thing she notices is that she's too comfortable. The ground was definitely a lot softer than it should be. She opens her eyes and realizes that she's in someone's room. She tries to remember how she got there, and the previous night's events rush back to her. She panics and tries to get out of bed. She tries to roll off the bed and gets on her feet. Her body's in such pain though and she collapses. She lets out a surprised yelp as she falls to the ground.

Kakashi was in the bathroom when he heard a yelp and then a thump. He runs out to the bedroom and sees Rin lying helplessly on the ground.

"Rin!" Kakashi runs to help her up and gets her back in bed. He sits on the foot of the bed with her. "You have a broken ankle and some bruising. You need to rest."

Rin is beyond shocked when she sees Kakashi. Despite everything all that she had planned to say when she first met him, she can't get herself to say anything. Kakashi is the first to break the silence.

"You were dead. We held a funeral and everything. Are you really Rin or are you some cruel trick? "  
"I really am Rin. I had never died, but I can't explain it yet."

"Oh, I should let you rest. I'll check up on you later." Kakashi said as he was getting up.

Suddenly he feels Rin grab his sleeve.

"Please don't go yet." Rin begs.

Kakashi sits down next to her.

"You really should try to get some rest. I won't go anywhere if you …"

Before Kakashi's able to finish, Rin is sobbing in his arms. He puts his hands around her and holds her tightly. This moment reminds him of their last day together and he subconsciously holds her tighter.

"Rin, please don't disappear like that again."

Rin felt a jolt in her heart. She wanted to believe that he really cared about her but her logic told her that of course he wouldn't want her to leave. They were good friends. She can't respond to his request so she doesn't say anything. Rin eventually stops her crying and Kakashi lets go of her.

"You really really should be sleeping now." Kakashi pushed on.

Rin replied with a shaky, "hai."

As Kakashi left her to sleep, she decided that she would tell him everything, just after she gets some rest.


End file.
